Time Changes Everything
by KennaS
Summary: Ongoing Kagome realizes that her time may be almost up in the feudal era and voices her concerns. This sets the rest of the group wondering if they could really bear to live with out her after all, one demon in particular.
1. Fear and Frustrations

A/N: Just to let you know, I abhor author's notes, so you won't be seeing many from me at all. In case you don't already know…and this IS the first and last time you'll see me say this; my last name isn't Takahashi.

…

Frustrations and Fear

"I can't believe you, you're so…mean sometimes!" Kagome yelled, soaking wet.

"What?" Inuyasha asked as he gasped for breath, laughing. "You needed a bath anyway, you stink like that stupid wolf." He dropped the bucket near the girl and started to walk away, still chuckling to himself. "Serves you right, not telling that wimpy wolf where to go in the first place."

"SIT BOY!"

"Mnffh, meh muntter run!" Inuyasha yelled with his face smashed in the ground.

"What? Inuyasha, I can't understand you! It had better be an apology though, or you're gonna be sorry!"

"I said," Inuyasha yelled spitting out grass and bits of rock and leaves "Wench, you better run!" He started to pull himself up, giving her a slow, cold smirk.

Kagome's eyes grew wide and she started to back away, dropping the firewood she had been collecting for the night. She had never seen him with that look in his eyes before, that gleam, dangerous and cunning. "SIT, SIT, SIT!" she yelled, running as fast as she could. She ran toward the river, hoping to make it back to the camp before he could get back up.

Her feet pounding, her lungs burning for air, she kept running as fast as her legs could move. She could hear the trees moving, the branches swaying from a heavy form landing suddenly on them. Gasping for air, she could hear his laughter, his taunting her from the trees.

"Kagome, oh Kagome! Did you really think you could out run me, Kagome?"

She saw the river ahead, How did he recover so fast? He should have been down for at least another five minuets! If I can just make it across that log…'

Kagome had barely made it a few feet onto the log when Inuyasha tackled her from the side, sending both of them plummeting into the water below. She surfaced, gasping at the cold water. "INUYASHA!" she yelled into the air, glaring wildly about, searching for him. Where the hell is he?'

Swimming under her, he reached up and yanked her under the water. She turned and grabbed his head, shoving him further under the water and pushed off, swimming toward the bank.

Inuyasha touched down on the bottom of the river. Using the rocks to push off of, he shot through the water under her and surfaced several feet in front of her.

Kagome could feel the rocks under her feet and started to run out of the water. Pushing the hair out of her eyes, she ran straight into what felt like a brick wall. She screamed as Inuyasha picked her up and jumped back into the middle of the river with her, dragging her back under with him.

She struggled out of his arms and started to swim back up to the shore, but he pulled her back down by her foot. Grabbing her wrist, he swam back toward the opposite shore and pulled her to the surface.

Kagome splashed out of the water and dropped, panting on the shore. "Inu…Yasha, "she gasped, "I'm...gonna kill…you!"

Inuyasha sat at the edge of the water laughing and gasping for air himself, pulled up and collapsed by Kagome.

"Ya have to admit, that was funny though!" he said, busting out in a fresh fit of laughter.

Kagome sat up and threw her wet shoe at him.

"Great," Miroku said from behind them "the camps going to smell like wet dog all night."

Sango laughter could be heard from behind Miroku, holding Shippo in her arms.

"Oh yeah?" Inuyasha asked, jumping up and tossing the three of them into the water faster than they could react. "Now what!"

"Oi, Kagome, you and Sango go and get dry, Miroku, you come with me and get the fire wood." Inuyasha said.

Miroku sloshed out of the water looking thoroughly irritated and followed Inuyasha.

"So, what was that all about?" Sango asked Kagome as they walked the few feet back to camp.

"Inuyasha thought it was funny to dump water on me, telling me I smelled like Kouga"

"Kouga! He was here? When?"

"Just a bit ago," Kagome replied, sighing. "I kept Inuyasha from killing him, but Kouga just can't take a hint. He isn't all that bad; I think he does it sometimes just to get under Inuyasha's skin though."

"So you don't think he really likes you then?" Sango asked.

"Who, Kouga? No, he likes me, I know he does. It's Inuyasha I wonder about. He doesn't want me, but he doesn't want me with anyone else either. Look at me, talking about myself like I'm some sort of possession. Anyway, Inuyasha has Kikyo, so why would he want me around anymore than I have to be?" Kagome started to cry.

Shippo jumped up into Kagome's arms "Aw, don't worry Kagome, Inuyasha's' just stupid. I know he cares for you, if he didn't, he wouldn't get so jealous of Kouga in the first place. Besides, Inuyasha's so dense; some times you have to hit him in the head with a rock before anything gets through."

Kagome laughed and hugged Shippo. "You always know just how to make me laugh."

"I'm cute too!" He jumped from her lap to catch the disgruntled crayfish that had been dislocated in the fray.

"So what are you going to do, Kagome?" Sango asked.

"I don't know, Sango. I suppose just continue and pretend everything's fine, just like always. Besides, it's not like I can even stay here. One day, this will all end and Ill have to go back"

They changed out of their wet clothing in silence, each lost in his or her own thoughts about what Kagome had just said.

I wonder when the well won't work for me anymore. I know I have to have the jewel on me, or at least a shard of it anyway, but what happens after that? What happens if Inuyasha does make his wish on it? What were you thinking anyway, Kagome, having a major crush on a half demon 500 years in the past! I always knew deep down inside I couldn't stay…'

"Hey Kagome! Can we eat these tonight?" Shippo called; holding hp two fists full of squirming, lobster like creatures.

"That sounds great, Shippo!"

"I'll help you with those." Kagome heard Sango call and watched as she pulled off her scarf and laid it on the ground for Shippos' catch. By the time they were done, the late evening sun and a warm breeze had dried them and they had caught enough for two meals.

Walking back to camp, Kagome thought about how her life had become so much more complicated, thanks to her cat and that stupid well. Deep down though, Kagome knew that at the same time, her life had been made that much better by it too. She would have never met Sango, Shippo, Inuyasha or Miroku. She had little doubt though she would one day run into several descendants of the monk in her time. With as lecherous as he was, Miroku was a sure bet to have fathered half of Japan! Sango gave her a funny look when she couldn't hold in the giggle that image caused. "Sorry, nothing. Shippo, we need to build a fire. Will you gather the stones? I'll go get the…Oh." The boys had already made it back with one load of wood and had gone off to get another.

As she gathered a few small pieces to get the fire going, she though about the people she had met on her travels, the great times she had doing exactly this and about Inuyasha. She had come to love them all like family over the past two years and him most of all. Kagome sat on the ground and started to build the fire ring with the stones Shippo had collected from around the campsite. With each stone she stacked, a tear fell until there were no more stones or tears left.

Sango and Shippo managed to fully occupy themselves in the cleaning of the crayfish. Neither one wanting to tell her it would be ok. How could it be?

Miroku and Inuyasha returned to camp with enough firewood for the night soon after. Inuyasha could tell that everyone, especially Kagome was upset, but he wasn't quite sure why.

"Oi, Sango. What's wrong with you people?" he asked as he pulled her aside. "It was only water."

"That's not it Inuyasha. Kagome started thinking about how, depending on what happens with the jewel, she might not be able to return if she wanted to come back after it's all over."

Inuyasha turned away and started a deep fire in his own thoughts.

Since Kagome had come here, there had really been only one time, after they had gotten to know each other that he didn't want her to come back and then that was only for her own safety. Inuyasha realized that in that short time he had come to know her, he was going to miss her; thinking she wasn't coming back. He had taken her shards, threw her in the well and a tree was jammed in it to make sure she wouldn't return. Shippo had found a way to get the shards back to her and she came back even after he had told her not to. Inuyasha had been furious with Shippo, but deep down he had been happy to see Kagome again.

Since that day, he had just taken for granted that she would always be there or at least come back after a few days. How would he feel if one day she didn't come back? What would his life be like with out Kagome? After being with Kikyo and having been bound to the tree by her he had been woken up by Kagome. Angry, alone and feeling betrayed, he lashed out at anyone and anything. She had befriended him even after he tried to kill her and had been with him since, accepted him for who and what he was and convinced others to do the same. How could he deal with being alone again, not having her there when he needed her? Inuyasha wasn't sure he could.

Having friends had changed Inuyasha and he didn't want to go back to what he was before. He couldn't go back to that. He had been miserable and craved acceptance and company. The humans that had been his friends taught him compassion and developed his conscience. They made him into the man he was today. He couldn't and wouldn't give his friends or Kagome up.

Inuyasha growled, startling everyone and bounded off through the woods in the direction of the river. "What was that all about?" asked Shippo

"Its Inuyasha, so who knows?" Miroku replied. "Maybe the wind blew the wrong way."

Kagome erupted into a fit of laughter, dropping Miroku's wet robes on the ground where she had been hanging their clothes to dry. "Oh! Miroku, I'm so sorry! I'll go rinse these out again for you." She said, starting for the river.

"That's ok Kagome, Ill get it." He replied, taking the robes from her. "It's too dangerous for you to go down by yourself at night. I'll get the water for you as well, Sango, since I'm going down anyway." He said turning to her and reaching for the bucket. "Shippo, may I borrow a light?"

Sango handed Miroku the bucket, shocked by his sudden generosity. There may be hope for him yet.' thought Sango.

Shippo smiled and pulled a leaf out of his pocket and a hair from his tail. He tied the leaf to Miroku's staff with the hair and lit the leaf with his foxfire. The leaf lit into a blue flame, casting a soft glow but never burning away.

"Hey Shippo, that's a pretty handy little trick, Ill have to remember you can do that." Kagome said.

"It'll burn as long as my hair holds it in place." He told her proudly, his chest puffed out.

"Oh, Miroku, thank you for tending to the water!" Sango called out as she watched him walk to the river.

"Hey, that was really nice of him, huh Sango?" Shippo asked with a smile.

"Eh…Yes, yes it was." Sango replied, already lost deep in a thought or two.

Kagome and Shippo looked at each other and smiled, knowing exactly where her thoughts were.

…..

Miroku stepped to the bank of the river and removed his sandals, setting them aside. He carefully propped his staff against a rock and reached for the water bucket. "Hello, Inuyasha. What brings you back down to the river?"

"How do you do that, monk? It creeps me out." He plopped down on the rock Miroku had propped his staff against and shoved his arms in his sleeves.

"Do what, Inuyasha?"

"How did you know I was here without even looking? I haven't made a sound and you still knew."

"Inuyasha," Miroku began, putting his hand on the demons shoulder. "Demons are my business. I can sense one from a mile away and tell the difference between a friend and any other demon."

Inuyasha was shocked. "You think of me as a friend?"

"Of course I do." He said, putting the now full bucket near Inuyasha's feet and picking up the robes to rewash. "Do you not think of me that way?"

"Well…yeah, but it never seemed to work both ways for me like that before. I never had any friends, other than Kikyo, and even then she betrayed me."

"Yes, but Naraku tricked her, Inuyasha. She had no clue it wasn't you who attacked her."

"Feh! She's been told it wasn't me and she heard that from Naraku himself, but she still refuses to forgive me. She's still talking about dragging me to hell with her. I mean, Ill go, I owe her that much, but not till I'm finished here."

"How do you figure you owe her Inuyasha?"

"I wasn't there to protect her from Naraku. He would have never gotten to her had I been there." He sniffed and glared up at the moon. Naraku had tried for Kagome as well and he almost hadn't been there for her either. As it was, she had been hurt pretty bad and it had taken Inuyasha a long time to forgive himself for that.

"He would have gotten her some other way, you know that, Inuyasha. He was out to get the jewel and nothing was going to stand in his way. If it hadn't been that, it would have been some other way."

"Have you thought about Kagome leaving us for good?" Inuyasha asked, changing the already sore subject.

"I try not to, Inuyasha. I know its going to happen, but I prefer not to deal with it till the time comes; I think its better that way. Dwelling on it isn't going to stop it, and it's not going to make the rest of her time here enjoyable either. That constant cloud is something Id rather not hang over the remaining time that we have with her." Miroku thought for a few seconds. "Is that what upset you earlier tonight?"

Inuyasha nodded. "I just found a place where I belong. I don't want to loose that. Feh! It could be anyone for that matter, not just her. It's still a lost friend no matter who it is." he replied quickly, realizing what he had just told the monk. "I mean, there's nothing special about HER; Just a friend lost, that's all." He continued, blushing a furious red that thankfully didn't show up too well in the blue glow.

Miroku wisely just nodded, knowing that Inuyasha meant exactly what he had said the first time. Picking up the now clean robes and motioning for Inuyasha to pick up the water he started back to camp.

"Inuyasha, "He said, pausing in the middle of the path and turning to face the demon following him "just so you know, and it's perfectly clear, Sango, Shippo and I won't abandon you when Kagome leaves. That's not how friendship works. Well be with you as long as you'll have us."

Inuyasha couldn't speak so just nodded. Aside from Kagome, that was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him.

Miroku gave a quick nod and changed the subject again. "Let's get back to camp, shall we? I'm starved and I heard Kagome say something about Ramen and crayfish tonight."

A red blur shot past him almost knocking him to the ground. "If anything I would bet, other than Kagome, Inuyasha's going to miss the Ramen the most." Miroku said to himself, laughing.

"Inuyasha, you have to wait! Its not even cooked yet!" Kagome was yelling as Miroku walked back into camp and hung up his robes to dry.

"Well you were the one that said it was ready!"

"I said it was ALMOST ready, there's a difference, Inuyasha. If you eat it uncooked, you'll get a tummy ache."

"Feh! Like some wimpy noodles are going to hurt me. Why aren't they done yet? You're taking too long!"

"Inuyasha…SHUT UP!"

"Well, you are." He pouted as he plopped on the ground behind her, resolved to the fact that she wasn't going to give in anytime soon.

Kagome turned and handed him his bowl. "Now see, you just had to have a little patien…Hey, you almost took my hand off!"

Shippo and Sango rolled their eyes.

"Do you think those two will ever get along?" Miroku asked, taking a seat next to Sango.

"I'm not sure how much time we have left to figure out the answer to that question, Miroku." Sango whispered as her mood fell quickly.

Miroku felt sorry for Sango. When Kagome leaves, she'll be alone again, but even more so than Inuyasha. All of Sango's family and friends died. Kagome was the only female she had to talk to. What's going to happen when Kagome is gone?' Miroku leaned over and gave Sango a hug. "Don't worry, Sango. Maybe we can figure out something."

Sango closed her eyes and braced herself for a grope that never came. Instead, Miroku sat back up, moving away from her. When she opened her eyes, he was holding a bowl of Ramen out to her. "You need to eat something, you didn't eat much for lunch today and we've had a long day."

Sango took the bowl from Miroku and stared at the monk in disbelief. "Uh...th...thank you Miroku."

Unfortunately, this act did not go unnoticed. "Oi, monk! Are you getting sick or somethin'? Why you bein' so nice all the sudden?" Inuyasha called from the head lock Kagome had him in.

"No, Inuyasha. It's just better to be nice sometimes; It keeps people on their toes." he answered, turning to give Sango a wink.

Sango blushed and all the sudden, her Ramen became the most fascinating thing in the world.

Shippo shook his head and curled up for the night in Kagome's now empty back pack. "You grown ups sure are weird sometimes. I hope I don't ever get like that."

"No you little rat, you'll be worse!" Inuyasha called.

Kagome had managed to get him turned over on his stomach and was now sitting quite comfortably on his back eating her Ramen. "Quit wiggling so much, Inuyasha, I'm going to spill it." she said digging her heal into his side.

"I want some more food; do you have any of those chips left?"

"Those are mine Kagome! Don't let him have those! He'll eat them all!" Shippo called frantically from her bag, trying to wiggle out to defend his claim, getting hopelessly tangled in the process.

"Relax, Shippo," Kagome told him, getting off of Inuyasha to get them. "Ill bring you back more. I swear... I'm turning you people in to junk food addicts!"

Inuyasha sat up and took the chips from Kagome, sticking out his tongue out at the little kitsune who had managed to get one ear and half an eye out.

"KAGOME!" Shippo wailed.

"Inuyasha, that's enough. Shippo, go back to bed." Kagome sighed before unrolling her sleeping bag and cleaning things up for an early start in the morning.

Inuyasha took one last glance around the camp before jumping into the tree nearest Kagome to eat his chips. He sat in silence, watching her every move. The way she picked up the camp, the way she smiled when she opened her pack to find it full of red fur. Her laugh as Miroku told her about a bird he had encountered earlier that day. The way the firelight glinted off her sleeping form. As soon as everyone was asleep, Inuyasha jumped down in search of Myoga. If anyone could find a way for Kagome to stay, it would be him.


	2. Fire and Water

Fire and Water

Inuyasha sat quietly in a tree not far out of camp, waiting for Myoga to show up. He wasn't quite sure how, but the flea always managed to appear just when he was needed. That's probably why my father chose him to guard the false grave and keep an eye on me, like I need anyone to do that. That coward runs at the first sign of danger!'

"Ah…beautiful night, is it not Lord Inuyasha? I've never seen the stars so bright."

"Hello, _Myoga_, bout time you showed up ya coward! I've been waiting here for hours."

"Lord Inuyasha, I'm hurt! Haven't I always been there when you needed me?"

"Feh! Only when your hide wasn't on the line!"

"Ahem…so I assume that this isn't a social visit then?" he bristled at the implied insult.

Inuyasha picked up the flea and set him on his knee to get a better view. "Is there any way that Kagome can stay with us?"

"What do you mean; is she no longer traveling with you?"

"Yeah, she's still here…for now, but who knows for how long? She keeps thinking about her having to go home one day and the jewel not letting her come back, you know, depending on what happens to it." he said blushing. He knew deep down, if it meant Kagome not being able to come back, he wouldn't dare make a wish. Kagome couldn't just keep walking around with the jewel around her neck though; she wasn't safe as it is let alone with it completed. "I see her heart break a little more each day. We get another shard and she gets down for a few hours. The others do too and it hurts her even more. It's almost complete."

"Lord Inuyasha, this isn't like you to talk so openly about your feelings. Kagome is a very eh…sweet girl and I would hate to see her leave…."

"You keep your mouth off of her you blood sucker and don't you dare tell anyone I talked to you like this or Ill kick your ass, Ya hear flea!" Inuyasha yelled reaching for him.

"Of course, I would never dream of it! I am sorry though, lord Inuyasha. I know no way to help Kagome. I don't even know where to start asking."

Inuyasha had such high hopes Myoga would know, he was visibly crushed. "Do you remember those times I thought Kagome had died? I was sad and this feels just like that. I feel so bad. At first I thought that it was because she looked like Kikyo, I could replace her with Kagome. Then I realized that she's nothing like Kikyo. Then I thought that it was because of the shards, but now I know, it's just that Ill miss her. The others are gonna miss her too. Not that I care too much, but Shippo will be devastated, and I don't wanna hear that brat crying over it."

"Inuyasha, do you love Kagome?"

Inuyasha almost fell out of the tree. "What! No! I…_No_! What the hell are you asking me that for? No I don't…I don't...love her!"

Myoga gave a small nod. "Ill do everything I can to find a way Lord Inuyasha." With that, he jumped off Inuyasha's knee and bounded off into the night.

"Stupid flea!"

…

Kagome woke up coughing and her throat was parched. The wind had shifted and the smoke from the embers of the fire had been blowing on her. She went to the bucket of water to find it had been knocked over by an animal. "That's strange…Inuyasha?" she called turning to see why he hadn't shooed off whatever had been there, but he wasn't in the tree. "Inuyasha?" she softly called again, trying not to wake the others.

Kagome picked up the bucket and headed down the path to the river. Miroku told me not to go alone, but it's so late and I don't want to wake them up. I'll be fine, it's not that far and I'm sure Inuyasha's close. He'll be able to hear if I need help.'

Working her way down the bank to the water, she found a big rock to sit on and remove her shoes. Wow, the water is really nice. Maybe a quick swim to rinse the smoke out of my hair wouldn't hurt.'

Kagome striped off the rest of her clothing and dove into the water. This is so much nicer without Inuyasha trying to drown me! I wonder where he went anyway.'

She looked up at the stars, taking note of how big and beautiful they were in this time. In her time, the city lights would block out most of them and the pollution a good portion more. In this time, the sky looked like had five times as many stars.

Kagome floated on her back just staring into the night, not even noticing the jewel shard that was crawling slowly towards her clothing. She wanted to imprint that image of the sky into her mind forever.

She was lost to the world; her thoughts began floating into the night, her eyes not really seeing anything but the stars in the sky. She could feel the water lapping against her neck, slowly caressing her, almost like it was alive. She thought she could hear the night whispering to her. "…_So_ _beautiful._ _So peaceful. So Delicate_."

Kagome's eyes began to get heavy, closing as if to concentrate on the voice whispering to her on the wind. She had never heard anything so enchanting, sounding like the singing of silver bells. So melodic, so hypnotizing. "_Come_," it continued, whispering to her, "_Come_ _to me, my_ _precious_ _beauty, my delicate_ _flower_."

Kagome tried so hard, but she couldn't resist the voice and fell into its trance. She glided through the water, to the middle where she thought she was hearing that wonderful melody come from. When it started to hum to her and the water started to caress and comfort her, a single tear rolled down her cheek. She knew something was wrong, that she shouldn't be here, but she couldn't pull herself away.

Her eyes wouldn't open and it was like she had no control of her limbs anymore. She wasn't sure she wanted to either. The voice was so peaceful; it was draining all the stress from her. The more she relaxed, the deeper she sank into the water, until the top of her head was the only thing visible.

From the shore Inuyasha could see Kagome and something wasn't right She knows better than to go off at night alone.' A breeze picked up and he could smell she wasn't alone after all. "Kagome!" he yelled to her "Kagome, snap out of it!"

Startled, Kagome sank completely below the surface of the water for a split second before surfacing again.

"Kagome, get out of the water!"

Nodding, and looking around, she spotted her clothing. Inuyasha met her there.

"Could you please turn around so I can get dressed?"

Inuyasha gave a slight blush and faced down the river. "What were you doing out here by yourself anyway, stupid! That water sprite could have drowned you!"

"Water sprite? I...I'm sorry, "she said as she pulled her shirt down over her head. "I woke up from the smoke blowing into my face and came down to get a drink."

"Smoke? You were upwind of the fire; All of you were."

"Yeah, well that's what I thought too." She said, pulling back on her skirt and zipping it. "The wind must have changed direction and blew...OUCH!" She yelled. "What in the world was that? Something bit me!"

Inuyasha turned in time to see a small white scorpion fall out of the waist band of her once again unzipped skirt.

"Inuyasha, it has a shard in its bac…" Inuyasha caught Kagome before she hit the ground in a faint and lay her gently at his feet.

He reached down, picked up the scorpion and pried the jewel shard out, letting it fall to the ground. He moved her hand to touch the shard and purify it before he picked it up and put it into the little glass bottle around her neck with the others.

Picking her up, he went back to camp and laid her down on her bedroll, pulling the whole thing closer to the fire. Inuyasha pulled down her waist band to see a big red blotch low on her hip where the scorpion had stung her. "Oi, Sango, Miroku! A little help here!"

Miroku woke up slowly. He felt as if he had been asleep for several years. "Inuyasha…Inuyasha, what's going on? Why are you…yelling?" he asked trying to sit up. His body felt as if it was made of lead and he couldn't move his legs and arms. He felt dirty and slimy. Struggling to stand up, he maneuvered to Inuyasha, leaning heavily on his staff. "Something's wrong Inuyasha, I can't move very well. What's going on?"

Inuyasha looked back at Miroku. "Kagome's been stung by a scorpion and it had a shard."

"Hey, can you guys quiet down?" A muffled, sleepy voice came from Kagome's bag. "It's the middle of the night."

"Oi, Shippo, make your light again!" called Miroku, shaking his staff gently to remind Shippo that the leaf was still attached. The leaf flared to life again casting the gentle blue glow to mingle with the light of the dying fire as he leaned over Inuyasha to see.

"What's going on?" the little kitsune yawned, emerging from the bag.

Miroku stepped over to the other side of Kagome, kneeling down to get a better view. "Inuyasha, It's getting bigger." He said, placing his hand on her hip over the growing blotch.

"Oi, Monk! Don't touch her there!"

"Inuyasha, touch it, touch the mark."

Blushing, he reached out his hand and placed it carefully over the glaring red mark. "Its _cold, _like ice! It should be hot." Inuyasha said, his face paling "I can _feel_ her heartbeat. It's like _that's_ her heart!"

Miroku nodded.

"What happened to Kagome!" Shippo yelled at Inuyasha, running to her. "What did you do to her?"

"Shippo, Kagome was stung by a scorpion with a jewel shard and she passed out." Miroku offered when Inuyasha didn't answer.

"Where were you? Why weren't you protecting her Inuyasha?" Shippo yelled hitting him in the arm.

Inuyasha couldn't answer. He once again had failed to protect some one he cared about because he wasn't where he was supposed to be. He gently pushed Shippo off and looked back at Kagome.

"I bet you were off with Kikyo somewhere. Bad dog! You should have been there to protect her!" Shippo pouted, stroking Kagome's now sweat soaked hair.

Inuyasha's hand shot out and grabbed Shippo by tail, holding him in front of his face. "Listen to me brat, and listen good. I wasn't with Kikyo; I was with Kagome when she was stung and even if I hadn't been, it's none of your business. Look, Kagome walked down to get a drink and I found her in the water washing the smoke off of her." He explained leaving out the fact that Kagome was being seduced by a sprite when he found her. "The scorpion crawled into her clothing and stung her when she put it back on."

"What do you mean, You found her.' You didn't go down to the river with her?" Shippo asked.

"No, I was talking to Myoga and didn't hear her till I was on my way back to camp." Inuyasha dropped Shippo with a thud and stared at the angry red patch still growing on Kagome's side. "I should have been here though."

Miroku stood and put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "You still wouldn't have been able to help her. We were drugged to make sure we stayed asleep." He told him, showing him the residue on his finger from the silvery fine powder that coated the beds. "Shippo was not affected by it because he was inside the bag and you weren't in the camp Inuyasha. If you had been, there's no telling what would have happened to Kagome."

Inuyasha nodded, mollified by the fact that Miroku was right.

Shippo went to Inuyasha and put his paw on his leg. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I didn't mean to blame you." He said when he heard the low growl from the demon.

Inuyasha huffed and turned from the little fox. "Hey, where's Sango?"

Miroku walked over to her bed roll and pulled back the cover. "She's here, but it looks like she got more of the sleeping powder than I did. Shippo, wet a cloth and bring it to me." He sat on the ground and put her head on his lap. Taking the cloth from Shippo, he wiped the powder out of her eyes and mouth. "She's covered and this is just smearing it. We need to get her to the river. Shippo, grab my staff and follow me." he instructed as he stood and picked up Sango. "And grab one of Kagome's big towels too. Inuyasha, I assume you're staying here with Kagome?"

"No," Inuyasha said surprising both the monk and the kitsune, "I'll go with you. The current in the river is strong tonight and I don't think you can hold her and wash her at the same time. There was a water sprite down there having fun at Kagome's expense earlier. Shippo can keep an eye on her, he's strong enough" he said giving a worried glance at Kagome's still form and missing the way Shippo's chest puffed at the vote of confidence that was just given to him.

Miroku nodded and gave Inuyasha a grateful look. "Shippo, yell if you need anything."

"Feh!" Shippo grumbled, sitting in a perfect imitation of Inuyasha. "I can handle it. Go take care of Sango."

Miroku chuckled as he followed Inuyasha to the water. "I think he looks up to you more than you know."

Inuyasha just growled, dropping the towel and taking Sango from Miroku. He jumped into the water and turned as Miroku splashed in with the cloth. He watched as Miroku carefully splashed water over her face and wiped the residue off and shook it out of her clothing.

"Oh! Just look at what you're doing to my beautiful river!"

Inuyasha and Miroku looked up to see a handsome water sprite looking indignantly at the three of them.

"We do apologize but we're just trying to help our friend. We were dusted with a sleeping powder and she got the worst of it." Miroku carefully explained.

The sprite walked across the water and bent over to look into the sleeping woman's face. "That's the powder of a mushroom" he replied, tilting his chin to the side. Some one didn't want you to wake up for a long time, eh? You can finish here." He thought for a moment as the monk and demon became increasingly nervous. "She is a beautiful one isn't she? It would be a shame to loose her." Glancing at Inuyasha "Hey, you're the one that took the other girl from me! I was going to have fun with her!"

"You keep your hands off her ya fairy!" Inuyasha yelled, almost dropping Sango.

"I'm not a fairy, I'm a sprite; a water sprite. I assume she belongs to you then?" sticking his chin out and sniffing.

"Kagome doesn't belong to anyone!"

"The halfling sure does get worked up about this…Kagome and she doesn't even belong to him." the sprite said, arching an eyebrow at Miroku.

"Yes, that's something he needs to work on, I'm afraid. He has a most difficult time letting go of his past and admitting his feelings for her. It's quite frustrating for everyone, including Kagome. Poor thing."

"HEY! I'm standing right here! Quit talking about me like I'm not before I kick both your asses!"

"This halfling amuses me. I shall help you with this woman." The sprite scooped a hand full of water and blew on it, making it glow. He slowly poured it on Sango's face. "Now dunk her under the water."

Inuyasha looked at the monk and did as he instructed when Miroku gave a nod of approval.

Sango woke up, her body shaking with powerful coughs.

"She won't be able to move for a while, but her mind will be sharp. Take her and give her tea with this in it." He instructed, handing Miroku a small pouch. "It will lessen the effects of the paralysis." Turning to Inuyasha. "Take care of that woman that doesn't belong to anyone. The next time I see her off alone, she will belong to me!" he said laughing and giving the furious demon a wink as he disappeared.

"Some one want to tell me why were all standing in the river and I can't move?" asked a very sleepy Sango.

Inuyasha and Miroku climbed out of the river with Sango and stopped, both looking worriedly at each other.

"Ahhum….Inuyasha, I don't think we thought this through in our haste. Now that she's clean…"

"Who's gonna dry her?" Inuyasha finished with a blush.

"Will some one tell me what's going on? Where's Kagome and why the hell can't I move!"

"Sango, you should calm yourself. Kagome is hurt and needs our help. Shippo is…Oh! Inuyasha, Shippo can do it! Ill go and get him." The monk exclaimed, started up the path.

"Miroku, you stay with Sango, Ill get him. I've been away from Kagome too long already. You can tell Sango what happened." he said, handing her to him. "You're better at storytelling anyway, monk" he called, bounding up the short path to camp.

Miroku sat down with Sango and brushed the wet hair out of her face. "Kagome, as I stated earlier, is injured. She was stung by a scorpion and is now unconscious back at camp. Inuyasha told Shippo to stay with her while he and I took you to the river to wash the sleeping powder away. You got the majority of it and I couldn't get it off. It temporarily paralyzes you; the sprite said to give you some of this in some tea." he said, indicating the pouch.

He picked up the towel and started to dry Sango's hair, wondering what the hell was taking Shippo so long. "You've still got some of that powder on your face." He said, reaching back into the water and wetting the cloth again.

She watched him wet the cloth and saw the concern in his eyes as he wiped away the last traces. "Thank you, Miroku."

"For what?" he said, looking her in the eyes. Why had he never noticed how beautiful her eyes were before? She had captivated him from day one and still, this was the first time he had really _seen_ it. He knew the color, where each little fleck of gold was hiding, the subtle change in hue depending on her mood, but never the absolute beauty that they hid. If he hadn't known better, he would have sworn that he was being allowed to look into her soul at that very moment.

"Thank you for…being so nice and helping me." She blushed. "I'm not sure what I did to deserve it, but thank you."

"You don't have to do anything. Just breathing is enough." he said, smiling at the way her eyes changed colors briefly. 'Ah…so that's what color they turn when she's…'

"Miroku! Sango!" a little voice called to them, interrupting a perfectly good thought.

"Over here Shippo!" Miroku called, semi relieved he couldn't finish line of thinking that could be detrimental to his health. Just having her close like this was difficult enough with out his thoughts being there too. Perhaps later though, he could visit those images again...

"Sorry it took so long, Inuyasha wanted a report on every little breath and sound that Kagome made while you were gone and he sent this for you to put on Sango. He checked and your other clothes were still damp." he said, dragging Inuyasha's coat. "He didn't want you to get sick sitting in wet clothing."

"Its not a problem Shippo, Ill be right over here when you're done." He said, indicating a log not too far away as he set Sango down gently on the ground.

Shippo went to work and in no time Sango was presentable. Well, as presentable as could be in that impossibly short coat of Inuyasha's. Blushing, Miroku wrapped the towel around her waist and carried her back to camp. "Shippo, would you be so kind as to pull my bedding near the fire and Kagome?"

Following Shippo, Miroku bent over and whispered "I always knew I would get you in my bed one day, Sango!" and laughed as her face turned red.

"Just so you know, Miroku, I _will be_ keeping track." She whispered back, eying her hiraikotsu. This brought an even bigger wave of laughter from Miroku as he set her down, fully aware of the confused stares they were receiving from their companions.

"Just so that we're both aware of it then." He said, winking and sending her into a new fit of blushing. "I'll wash out your bedding for you later today." Miroku sat himself by her head, and leaned against the tree, pulling Sango's head into his lap for a softer pillow. He closed his eyes, relishing the trouble he knew was coming later and the fun ways he could get out of it.

Inuyasha checked Kagome's wound once more before laying down next to her. Her nightmares seeming to haunt his dreams as well.


	3. Shared Dreams

Shared Dreams

Kagome moaned and shifted; her hip hurt and the ground was really hard. Why was the ground so hard? She reached her hand out and touched the…floor? What's going on? Where's my blanket?" She opened her eyes but it was still dark. "Inuyasha?" The sound of her voice reverberated off the walls making her wince in pain. Her head feeling like it was going to explode any second. "Inuyasha where are you? Its dark and I can't see." She called a little softer, trying to avoid the harsh echo.

"Your demon isn't here, Kagome. No one is here." a voice echoed "They've all abandon you, leaving you to me." A sphere appeared in the center of the room casting brilliant rays of light and rainbows around. The entire room was a giant soft pink crystal

Kagome shielded her eyes at the sudden onslaught of light. "Who are you? What do you want from me and where is Inuyasha?"

"I told you already, the demon abandoned you to me."

"And who are you?"

"My name is Kado."

Kagome stood and winced at the pain on her hip. She touched the sting carefully and was shocked to feel it so cold. She carefully limped to the center of the room, the clicking of her shoes echoing loudly in her ears. "So, where are we?"

"Kagome, do you not recognize what you work so hard to protect?"

She looked around the room but nothing looked familiar. The lights in the room dimmed and the walls became translucent. Kagome gasped as she saw the fire and…was that…a giant shard? She gasped, "Are we in…are we in one of the…the shards?"

"What a bright girl you are, Kagome." Kado said laughing as he emerged from the wall to stand in front of her. "There's no fooling you is there?" The handsome demon towered over her, his eyes sparkling deep green and his long hair a glossy black, his skin so smooth and perfect. He looked familiar somehow….

"Naraku!" Kagome yelled, forgetting the harsh echo. She reached for her bow, only to find it missing. Panicking, she backed away and hit the wall of the shard behind her.

Inuyasha sat staring at Kagome in the dark, the flame from the fire was just enough to cast a dim halo around the rocks. A breeze picked up and sent a shiver over Kagome's damp skin. He sighed and threw another few logs on the fire. The night was only half over and he doubted the day would be better. Kagome stirred in her sleep, moaning.

The fire started to devour the new logs he had added and in the growing light, Inuyasha could see Kagome starting to sweat again. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a bright pink light on her neck. Slowly reaching out, he unzipped her sleeping bag, exposing the now glowing jewel shards. The light suddenly dimmed, as if ashamed to be seen. Sighing, he sat back to keep watch over her again.

Something wasn't right. His ears twitched forward as he heard her moan again and reach to quickly unzip her bag the rest of the way. Gingerly, he moved her hand, exposing the blotch and stared. It was now a slight iridescent pink color He reached out and touched it feeling her heart was beating at a furious pace now. She moaned again and tried to shift away from the discomfort.

Feeling something poke him, he moved his hand. In the middle of the pink, there was a small black dot. Blushing, he moved closer to see, his breath sending a shiver down her spine. "The stinger, it's still in there. Maybe that's why she's not getting better." He said to himself, plucking it out.

Kagome moaned and tried to roll away again but he held her firmly in place as he washed the wound of poison. The glow left the sting and heat slowly returned to it. Smiling, he lay down next to her and placed his hand over the wound. Her heart was still racing, but at least it was looking better.

When Kagome shivered again, he covered them both up, replacing his hand on her hip as he fell asleep.

Kado laughed "Dear girl, I had hoped you were smarter than that. Naraku is unfortunately my brother, and I assure you, Kagome, we are nothing alike."

"Why am I here?" She asked, unsure whether to believe him or not.

A bright flash of light filled the room, blinding both Kagome and Kado. When their eyes cleared, there was a big red and white wall standing between Kagome and Kado.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled throwing her arms around him.

"What the hell is this, Kagome!" he asked, confused.

"You're in a jewel shard in the bottle around Kagome's neck." A voice told him from behind.

Inuyasha spun around, drawing Tetsusaiga "Naraku!"

"You know, that's not the first time that's happened today. My name is Kado. Naraku and I are brothers and nothing alike." He sighed as if bored.

"I don't give a damn who you are! I wanna know why the hell Kagome is here instead of in her body!"

"I needed her help. I was accidentally trapped in the jewel, by the woman named Midoriko. I was with her when she was attacked. As the battle of the demons wore on, she created the jewel and I was caught up in the blast and have been trapped ever since. The shard I was trapped in got caught in a demon scorpion. As it stung her, I took her soul into the shard with me. If I had not, she would be dead."

"Wait, you were with Midoriko? Then why wasn't your body found in the mass? We saw it, we were there. There was no other human in the cave." Inuyasha said, narrowing his eyes.

"Wait….You said you were Naraku's brother," Kagome said, pondering the situation. "Naraku was created out of hundreds of demons. How can you be his…brother?" She finished, her eyes widening in realization. "You're a demon, just like he is! That still doesn't make sense though." She bit her lip, pondering. "That must mean that you're a _brother_ to one of the demons residing in Naraku."

"My, my, but you _are_ a clever one, aren't you! I too have multitudes of demons residing in me. The only difference is I'm not part _human._ Onigumo sold his body to the demons; _I'm_ pure demon, unlike others here." He said, looking pointedly at Inuyasha.

"Bastard!" Inuyasha yelled, charging at Kado.

Kagome reached out and grabbed Inuyasha by the shirt stopping him before he could attack. "No! Not in here! There's no telling what an attack like that could do to the shard with us trapped inside."

She turned back to Kado. "You told me that you and Naraku were nothing alike! You're exactly like him!"

"And that's where you're wrong my sweet, little one. Being full demon, I don't have Onigumo's lust and I'm stronger than Naraku is."

Kagome took a few steps back and looked down. The floor of the shard was so flawless so perfect in all but one spot. Under where Kado stood, was a small black spot, not normally visible, but in the firelight it shone like an onyx. "Inuyasha" she said, in a voice not her own "Step away from me please." Indicating a spot on the floor; her instructions were so cold, they seemed to hang in the air.

Inuyasha looked over to see Kagome glowing. It was if the shard had taken all its powers and transferred them to Kagome. He scrambled to the side that was furthest from the others, where she had told him and stood frozen, watching nervously.

The power coursing through her body created a wind, gusting and blowing around her like the vortex of a tornado. Kagome dropped to her knees and the room stilled. Toughing the floor with her finger, a light shot out and enveloped Kado.

Inuyasha could feel himself lifting off the floor. Looking to Kagome, he could see her body levitating the same as his. The moment their feet no longer touched, the entire room lit in a bright light that shot through Kado, ripping him apart. A deafening shriek tore though the room as the body disintegrated.

Inuyasha touched down and ran to catch Kagome as she fell, exhausted to the floor. The light that had coursed through her body gathered itself in the center where Kado had been standing.

"Midoriko." Kagome said before passing out.

"Demon, care for the girl until you wake and when you do, remove the shards from around her neck and open the bottle. Her soul will return to her body. You must care for her demon, and care for her well."

He glanced down at Kagome then back up at the priestess whose soul he was now kneeling in. "How am I here with her if her soul is trapped? Shouldn't I be trapped here too?"

She looked down at his hand, which had unconsciously made its way back to cover the wound on Kagome's hip, and smiled.

Inuyasha's eyes followed her gaze and jerked his hand away, blushing when he realized what he had done. He fumbled for a place to put his hands, finding none with his robe still on Sango. Giving up, he crossed his arms over his chest with a scowl and glared a hole through the wall.

"Do not be shamed or embarrassed, Inuyasha. It's that very bond that brought you here to save Kagome." Seeing Inuyasha's ears twitch was the only sign she would receive that he heard her. "Your soul traveled to hers through the connection you unknowingly made when you fell asleep touching her wound. Your soul sensed hers was in danger and went to rescue it, not letting something as small as distance or a body stop it. It seems that your soul has figured things out before your mind has."

"Midoriko, wait!" He called after her as she started to fade away.

"I know the question you'll ask and the answer you seek. The solution will present itself when the time comes. Until then, make the most of the time you have left. Let go of your past but don't forget it. Look to the future, but don't live for it. Dear, sweet Inuyasha, you already know the answer, you just have to dig deep inside your heart to find it." She said, fading.

He was stunned, "I already know? How the hell does she figure that? If I knew, why would I be asking?"

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome. How could two people look so similar and so different at the same time? He had long ago stopped comparing Kagome to Kikyo. It was useless; they were as different as night and day.

Inuyasha sighed. These damn women, they were really starting to piss him off. Life was so simple before they came. He would come and go as he pleased, eat when he wanted, sleep when he wanted. He didn't have to worry about others or get involved in their meaningless lives. It was Kagome; she had done this to him. Kikyo didn't care what Inuyasha did as long as no humans were injured.

Kagome insisted that they stop and help anything that even _looked_ like it needed it and that was rubbing off on him. He had found Kaede struggling under a heavy load three days ago and had run to help her. He had helped and with out even being asked! Kaede wisely chose not to mention the incident again after Inuyasha scowled and gave his usual "Feh!" as she thanked him.

Inuyasha looked back down to Kagomes' sleeping form. One woman had tamed his wild soul and her reincarnation had tamed his wild heart.

"Is that really such a bad thing, Inuyasha?" Midoriko's voice called out softly.

Some how he knew she hadn't left and somehow wasn't surprised that she could sense his thoughts as well. Kagome and Kikyo always seemed to know what he was thinking as well. Maybe it was a priestess thing.

"No, its not; I don't ever want to go back to being alone again." Inuyasha began to grow uncomfortable. Midoriko could read his thoughts, sense his confusion and even self doubt. She…she even knew how he felt about Kagome and he didn't even know that.

"Inuyasha, in your heart, you already made that choice a log time ago."

"Well apparently my heart isn't speaking to my brain because I still don't know the answer." Inuyasha sighed as a heavy wave of peace washed over him. Peace was something he hadn't felt in such a long time. "Midoriko, what will happen to you now that the demon is gone, after we leave here?"

"Kado was just a part of the larger demon that fused together. When the jewel shattered, so did the demon sealing a part of him within each shard. Unknowingly, Kado helped me destroy this part of him. You see," she continued when Inuyasha gave her a questioning look, "when he brought himself to Kagome by way of the scorpion, he used the largest and most powerful part of himself, thinking that if he got Kagome to help him, he could destroy me. He didn't count on her being as cunning as she is and figuring out his plan long before he could implement it. Because he brought her here, I was able to use her powers as well as my own to purify him. Kagome just lightened my burden by ten fold.

"She is one of the purest, kindest, most beautiful souls that I have had the pleasure of coming across. She compliments you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha blushed, "Feh!" but for some reason didn't hold the condescending bite that it usually had.

"Hey Midoriko, why haven't I woke up yet; is something wrong?" he asked after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

"I held your soul here a bit longer than I intended originally. It was so damaged by the hurt and pain you've seen, I couldn't let you go like that. It's not complete however."

He heard the lilt leave her voice, leaving it strange and hollow. "You've had some horrible things happen to you, child, and it breaks my heart to see it. Take comfort in knowing that even though _I_ couldn't heal those wounds, in time they _will_ heal.

The soft, comforting, pink world Inuyasha had become accustom to began to fade as the smell of burning wood and night air hit his nose. He took a long, deep breath and was overcome by the new feeling of happiness that surrounded him.

For just that one breath, that one moment, everything in his word was perfect. He found a place where he belonged, friends to keep him company and some one that cared for his safety more than her own.

Sitting up, he brought his hand up from Kagome's hip to her neck and unfastened the clasp that held the necklace with the shard bottle in place.

Holding it up to the light, he could see black and a brilliant blue swirling through the pink of the shard.

The blue must be Kagome's soul' he thought to him self in awe.

The blue kept trying to mingle with the black, but was shoved violently back each time it got too close. He realized that was the hurt and the pain that Midoriko had healed him of. He felt horrible looking at it, ashamed that that he left something so ugly in something so beautiful.

Just then, the shard glowed brightly and the black was purified to a brilliant shade of purple. Inuyasha gasped as Kagome's soul rushed to his and they swirled through the pink together. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.

"Thank you, Midoriko" he said softly, opening the bottle. A soft breeze caresses his face and could almost feel lips on his cheek, mouthing "You're welcome."

The shards glowed brightly as Kagome's soul left the bottle. When the light receded, he could see that there were still remnants of his and Kagome's souls left swirling and dancing with Midoriko's.

Kagome sighed in her sleep and shifted her weight to move closer to Inuyasha.

He put the shards on the blanket between them as he lay back down beside her, placing his hand once again on what was quickly becoming his favorite place on her body.

That little spot seemed cut just for his hand. Did Kikyo have a place like that on her body, a place that seemed it was cut just for him? He couldn't remember and right now, he didn't really care to all that much. For the second time that night, his world was perfect.

"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, squeezing the hand that was on her hip "thanks for coming to get me."

"Feh! Listen to us next time when we tell you not to go off at night by yourself." He scowled and gave her hip a light squeeze to take the sting out of his words.

He felt a movement at his feet and kicked at it, sending Shippo flying over into the tree.

"Inuyasha! That's not fair; you're sleeping in my spot! Kagome's ok now so I should be able to sleep there again!"

"Quite, Shippo, before you wake the others!" Kagome scolded him as she lifted the covers for him to cuddle in front of her.

Shippo crawled under the covers sticking his tongue out at Inuyasha as he nuzzled up under her chin.

"You little runt!" Inuyasha growled, reaching up to flick Shippo on the ear.

"OW! Kagoooomeee!"

"Inuyasha, Go sleep in your tree!" Kagome whispered loudly as Shippo rubbed his now sore ear.

Kagome could hear him get up and felt the covers go back over her body as it missed the now absent warmth. She giggled as she heard him stalk off grumbling about tying rats tails in knots and hanging them from trees.


End file.
